Ellen Page 'expected so much more hate' after coming out, said she 'felt awkward around gay people' before admission

Ellen Page came out of the closet at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's first Time to Thrive conference in February and she’s now opening up about it in more depth in the June issue of Flare magazine.

She’s received public support from fellow celebrities like Glee star, Jane Lynch and Sir Ian McKellan, but she admitted to the magazine she was “deeply emotional” and nervous to come out.

"The more time went by, the more something just happened, and 'Oh my god – I want to love someone freely and walk down the street and hold my girlfriend's hand,'” she explained.

“You think you're in a place where you're all, 'I'm thrilled to be gay, I have no issues about being gay anymore, I don't feel shame about being gay,' but you actually do. You're just not fully aware of it. I think I still felt scared about people knowing. I felt awkward around gay people; I felt guilty for not being myself."

Page said she’s thankful for the support in light of her coming out, saying, “I expected so much more hate. It was just remarkably positive, which is beautiful, because it’s indicative of the change that’s happening.”

The actress, 27, will next appear in X Men: Days of Future Past as Kitty Pryde and she revealed she’s felt better about her career now than she has in years now that her secret is out.

Page said she’s "more creatively inspired than I have in years, and I'm sure it has to do with a lot of bricks being taken out of the backpack."